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Traditionally, everyone gathers around<br />
and tosses the dish seven times<br />
YU SHENG — SINGAPORE<br />
The tradition of eating yu sheng<br />
originated during Singapore’s<br />
nation-building days. For Chinese<br />
migrants, the dish was a reward<br />
for a year’s hard work and<br />
initiated the Chinese New Year<br />
festivities. “It was created by the<br />
‘Four Kings of Chinese Cuisine’<br />
in the 1960s,” explains master<br />
chef Steven Ng of Shang Palace in<br />
the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore.<br />
“These Cantonese chefs from<br />
China thought it would be good<br />
to have an auspicious dish to start<br />
the year.”<br />
They missed their provincial<br />
appetiser of sliced raw fi sh mixed<br />
with oil, ginger, sliced spring<br />
onion and light soy sauce that goes<br />
well with porridge, so together<br />
they devised a dish that added<br />
shredded vegetables and other<br />
condiments to the raw fi sh slices.<br />
Yu means fi sh, and pronounced<br />
another way it means abundance,<br />
and sheng means life or increase;<br />
so the dish signifi es an abundance<br />
of wealth and life.<br />
SYMBOLIC YU<br />
SHENG INGREDIENTS<br />
FISH — abundance<br />
and excess<br />
LIME JUICE — luck and<br />
auspicious value<br />
PEPPER — money<br />
and treasures<br />
VEGETABLE OIL — money<br />
to fl ow in all directions<br />
CARROT — blessings and<br />
good luck<br />
WHITE RADISH – prosperity<br />
in businesses and at work<br />
PEANUT — a household<br />
fi lled with gold and silver<br />
SESAME SEEDS —<br />
fl ourishing business<br />
DEEP-FRIED FLOUR<br />
CRACKERS — fortune<br />
and prosperity<br />
TOP LEFT/RIGHT: The<br />
main dining hall at<br />
Shang Palace and its<br />
yu sheng<br />
It is traditionally eaten on<br />
the seventh day of Chinese New<br />
Year to celebrate the symbolic<br />
birthday of mankind. The fi sh<br />
used originally was ikan parang<br />
but as the dish gained popularity,<br />
restaurants off ered options like<br />
salmon and garoupa.<br />
Senior executive chef Li Man<br />
from Tung Lok Restaurants<br />
explains: “The type of ingredients<br />
in our yu sheng will symbolise the<br />
current animal year. Since next<br />
year is the Dragon year, we will be<br />
having lobster meat in addition to<br />
the popular salmon.”<br />
Traditionally, each ingredient is<br />
given its own auspicious greeting<br />
as it is added to the dish. When<br />
they are all assembled, everyone<br />
gathers around and tosses the<br />
dish seven times while shouting<br />
auspicious phrases, before<br />
tucking in.<br />
TAKE ME THERE<br />
EAT BEAT //<br />
SHANG PALACE<br />
Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore, 22 Orange Grove<br />
Rd, tel: +65 6213 4473<br />
TUNG LOK SIGNATURES<br />
1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-57, VivoCity,<br />
tel: +65 6376 9555<br />
073
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